US 7143435

Patent Overview: US 7,143,435 B1

Title: Method and apparatus for registering auto-configured network addresses based on connection authentication

Patent number: US 7,143,435 B1
Application number: US 10/210,513
Inventors: Ralph Droms; John M. Schnizlein
Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (original assignee; assignment recorded 2002-07-31)
Priority/filing date: 2002-07-31
Grant/publication date: 2006-11-28
Status shown: Expired – Fee Related; adjusted expiration 2024-11-23
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US7143435/en

Purpose (per the supplied text): The invention "generally relates to dynamically assigning network addresses" and "relates more specifically to registering auto-configured network addresses based on connection authentication."

Plain-language scope (as supported by the excerpt): The patent addresses the problem that a newly connected host needs two things: authorized physical/LAN access and network configuration. IEEE 802.1x provides LAN access control at a physical port, using a supplicant on the host, an authenticator process on the intermediate device, and an AAA system (for example, a RADIUS server) that returns success or failure. Separately, DHCP lets IP hosts obtain network addresses and other configuration information automatically, and the excerpt states that "the DHCP process is initiated after the physical connection is authorized using IEEE 802.1x." The excerpt further notes that a new host is assigned a logical network address for itself, a network address for the routing/forwarding intermediate device, and a DNS address, among other configuration information. The title indicates the claimed subject matter concerns registering auto-configured addresses based on connection authentication. Classifications include H04L63/08 (network security for authentication of entities), H04L61/5014 (IP addresses using DHCP or BOOTP), H04L61/5092 (address allocation by self-assignment), and H04L61/59 (proxies for addressing).

What the excerpt does not establish: The supplied text is a partial document. It does not include the claims, the full detailed description, the drawings, or the specific prior-art references. Therefore it does not establish the exact scope of the claims, the precise mechanisms for registering addresses, the specific embodiments, or the prior-art distinctions drawn by the inventors. The legal status shown is described in the source as an assumption and not a legal conclusion; the excerpt does not establish litigation, ownership transfers, validity, or prior art. No facts beyond the excerpt should be inferred.